ericsmom

For those of you with a VG band, what amount of restriction are you at, or what has worked for you?

Greetings, my friends...it's been a busy day and I'm about to head to bed. Just wanted to check in. I'm doing well since my fill. I've done liquid all weekend. I'll introduce soft foods again tomorrow. My port area where all the stick marks are is sore if I touch it, but there is no bruise yet. I'm sure it will come. Yes, the fill was a rough one, but I figure if that's the worst I go through, then that's not bad. I haven't had any problems whatsoever and I wouldn't let not being able to find the opening to the port discourage me. The best thing I ever did for myself was have this surgery. I can buck up and take a little discomfort. BGP and Stetsi - you both look fabuloso!! It's great you're doing this together. I'm going to try the pants that I bought a week and a half ago tomorrow morning and see if they fit any differently. They fit when I bought them, but I didn't like how they felt when I sat down. So I got them and put them away and will periodically test them out. I'm crossing my fingers they work

Hello all, just checking in...I have a long list of things to do today, starting with picking up my son from Boy Scout camp at 11am. It's a 30 minute drive, so I'll leave about 10:15-10:30. Then I need to come home and pay some bills...something I've been neglecting to do for about 2 weeks (I know, that is so bad!). I had two nice NSV's yesterday. I get together with four other ladies practically every Friday night. Well, I haven't seen them in two weeks. One came to my garage sale yesterday and the first thing she said was "OMG look at you! Pretty soon you'll be smaller than me!!" I guess it's getting more noticeable. Then I went to another one's house to pick something up and she said "Holy Cow! How much have you lost now?!" She sid you can really tell through my upper chest and neck. Yippee!! I'd love to see 270 by Halloween!! Well, I'd better get myself ready to go. I'll check in later

I posted this on the July thread, too: I went to the doctor today and got a second fill. Boy, was it a traumatic thing, though! Nothing like last time! I guess when you lose weight things shift around and even though my port is sewn in, it had shifted, so the doctor couldn't, for the life of him, find the spot to get the needle in. He stuck me 4 times with number stuff and 7 times (yes, you read that right) with the needle trying to find the port access. :omg: When he finally got in, he put another 2.5 cc's in. I guess I have the VG band that holds 10cc's, so now I have 5.5cc's. I am going to look like he sucker punched me in a day or two. You should see all the poke marks on me! :puke: The physician's assistant who does the follow up care and fills felt so bad. I told him not to beat himself up over it and it was fine. My surgeon was in his office when I walked into my exam room. I asked the nurse to tell him to stop in and say hello. He not only came in and said hello, he sat down and asked me a bunch of questions about how it's going and how I'm feeling. So essentially he had an appt. with me, but it wasn't scheduled. I told him about this site and FitDay. He wrote them down. I also showed off my "I'm with the band" bracelet. He thought that was pretty cool. Can you tell I love my surgeon??:bolt:

I'm here!! :bolt: I have been preparing for my garage sale that is tomorrow... My hubby went up north fishing with a friend and my son is at Boy Scout camp for the weekend, so they helped me get it all set up and I had a sneak peak tonight and then tomorrow is the sale. They have what is called "East End Garage Sale Days" in my end of town. I always say I should have one at the same time because there are tons of people that roam the streets looking for sales. Well, now I'm alone and I caught my hubby's cold!!! After tomorrow I should be able to resume some sort of normalcy :clap2: I went to the doctor today and got a second fill. Boy, was it a traumatic thing, though! Nothing like last time! I guess when you lose weight things shift around and even though my port is sewn in, it had shifted, so the doctor couldn't, for the life of him, find the spot to get the needle in. He stuck me 4 times with number stuff and 7 times (yes, you read that right) with the needle trying to find the port access. :omg: When he finally got in, he put another 2.5 cc's in. I guess I have the VG band that holds 10cc's, so now I have 5.5cc's. I am going to look like he sucker punched me in a day or two. You should see all the poke marks on me! :puke: The physician's assistant who does the follow up care and fills felt so bad. I told him not to beat himself up over it and it was fine. My surgeon was in his office when I walked into my exam room. I asked the nurse to tell him to stop in and say hello. He not only came in and said hello, he sat down and asked me a bunch of questions about how it's going and how I'm feeling. So essentially he had an appt. with me, but it wasn't scheduled. I told him about this site and FitDay. He wrote them down. I also showed off my "I'm with the band" bracelet. He thought that was pretty cool. Can you tell I love my surgeon?? Well, I should go to bed as I have to be up early tomorrow for the sale. I'll check back in either tomorrow night or Sunday. Thanks for asking about me, Beth!

Congrats on making this milestone, Molly!! You're looking Good!!!

I got an email that my bracelet was on it's way the other day. Maybe it will be here tomorrow I had an extremely busy day at work today. I'm just checking in to say hi before I go to bed. I've got to stop staying up so late!!

Everyone seems to be about the same - I think it depends on the brand of clothes, too. If I buy my clothes at Catherine's they are more generous than if I go to Lane Bryant or other such stores. I was 337 the day of my surgery on July 5th and I was pushing out of my 4X's. Now I'm 286 and I'm comfortably in 3X's, which translates to almost a 26. I just bought 26/28 pants and I'm hoping to comfortably wear them in another 10 lbs.

I go for another check up next Friday, which will be another 4 weeks since my fill, so I'll ask him and see what he thinks. Thanks for the tips

I'm down 51 since I started my liquid diet 2 wks pre-op...Surgery was July 5th. I've got about 125 more I want to lose, and then I'll set a new goal.

I'm having a garage sale next weekend - all my 4X's are going in the sale. I'm comfortably in my 3X's heading toward 2X's, so I'm getting rid of everything except one pair of pants and one shirt for my "before" clothes.

Congratulations on your impending wedding DonnaMarie!! How exciting for you. Just think - you'll be smaller by the time you walk down that isle

THANKS!!! I'm pretty stoked about it...I wish it weren't taking so long to say goodbye to 280! I go next Friday for a check-up and maybe a wee bit more fill.

:funnypost: ROTFLMBO!!!!

Welcome to LBT and good luck with your surgery Everything will be just fine

I'd like to know this as well...and does anyone know if the saline seeps out or why, when you get a fill, doesn't it stay feeling like it does right after you get it? Other questions I have: When the doctor says your band holds X number of cc's, does that mean that is the maximum Fluid you can have in the band, or is that the magic number that technically closes the stoma? I had a fill on Aug. 17th and I go again next Friday for a check up. I had 3cc's in my 4cc max band. I don't feel like I have the restriction I should have...should I be able to get one more fill? Does anyone here have the full 4cc's in their 4cc maximum band?

Josette - glad to hear that you're cancer free!

Jane - congrats on the NSV! New clothes are always fun!

Chris, congrats on the continued loss! Glad to hear school is going good and I'm sure you'll relieved when you get your test results. Beth and Sherri - hang in there. I hate to say it, Sherri, but he is emotionally abusing you. You two need some serious help, or you need to get out...it's hard to think of that in that respect, but geez, I couldn't live with the degrading comments all the time. Search your heart. My physical activity today was grocery shopping...otherwise I've been in my craft room making cards for my card club next week. I've been in here since 7pm, so I'd better go out and hang with the hubby for a while. Have a great night, all!

Good night Beth! I'm off to read a magazine before I go to bed

Yes, I took the Fen-Phen when it was being used for weight loss in 1996 and I got a heart murmur from it. Thank God it went away, but it was very scary. My friend had valve damage from it. Please be careful!

Hello all...first of all, Sherri-I'm so sorry you're having a tough time of it right now. Kari gave some very good support/advice. Please take care of yourself during this difficult time...set your sites on the future...the new you. It's been a very busy week for the first week back to school. I had to work the meet & greet on Thursday night and then tonight I stayed an extra 1/2 hr - 45 min to get a few more things done. The phone rang like crazy today! I'm the Records Secretary in addition to my other duties. That means that any students transferring in or out of the middle school get processed through me. It's continuous bombardment of record's requests and registration forms for at least the first couple of weeks. I am, however, really enjoying seeing the kids and the staff again There was a staff get-together at one of the staff's houses tonight, but I didn't go. My knees suck and I just didn't know where I'd have to walk (grass, field, etc.) and I just didn't want to take any chances falling, so I stayed home. I have a long list of things I need to get done this weekend, too. I can't decide if my fill is right...I had 3cc's put in my 4cc band on Aug. 17th, but I feel like I can eat more than I should be able to. It was tight at first...but it doesn't seem that way lately. How do you know the saline is staying in the band? Could any seep out? If it's filled all the way, does that mean it's closed? Or just filled to the maximum and there is still a good opening there? Maybe I need .5 more to hit my sweet spot... I know...so many questions... I found out this week that two of the teachers in my school are getting banded - one in October and one hopes for November. There was a custodian that had it before me. We had a good chuckle - we could form our own support group and have meetings at the school LOL!! I told them both about this site, too I also told them I would answer any questions I could. I am becoming an advocate for this procedure, I think. Well, I've rambled long enough...I'm off to browse the board some more and then go to bed. Take care everyone!

I also took it after surgery - it would make me sleep til like 10:00 the next morning!! My hubby called it my "juice" LOL! I cannot attest to the cost though, as I have insurance coverage. It's GOOD STUFF!!

LOL!! I am totally picturing Johnnie :couch2: I used to work with someone that could probably pass for Johnnie's significant other! I replaced a woman who was crabby a lot and yelled at the kids a lot (from what I hear), so I have to admit that the kids and I get along really well Life is to short to be so crabby and mean all the time. I have to work the meet & greet tomorrow from 5-7 after I work 7:30 - 4, so I'd better get to bed. I'll check in more tomorrow

Hey! I just realized I get to join the 50's club!!!! Yippee!!!!